Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers yesterday withdrew a motion proposing a pension for legislators after the opposition criticized the motion as self-serving.
The legislature's Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee on Thursday approved a motion filed by KMT Legislator Wu Ching-chih (吳清池) that demanded government agencies present a bill to create a pension for lawmakers within a month, with the government and lawmakers sharing the cost.
During the committee meeting yesterday, members did not object when the chairwoman, KMT Legislator Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛), solicited their consent to defer the proposal while she was confirming the minutes of the previous committee meeting.
While Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers were absent and couldn't voice an opinion, an assistant to the DPP caucus present at the meeting questioned the propriety of the procedure.
Citing Chapter 7 of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Yuan (立法院議事規則), the assistant said the person requesting the motion be overturned must be present when it is filed and be in favor of the motion, adding that to overturn a motion, the proposal must be filed during the confirmation of the minutes of the previous committee meeting. The proposal must also be debated before a decision can be made.
Meanwhile, the same committee yesterday approved legal revisions to two examination codes, establishing a fund for national examinations and allowing any funds left over to be carried forward to next year's budget without them having to be returned to the treasury.
The committee agreed to revise the Civil Servant's Examination Act (公務人員考試法) and the Act Governing the Examination of Special Professions and Techniques (專門職業及技術人員考試法) to establish the fund.
Minister of Examinations Kirby Yang (楊朝祥) told the committee that the resolution would improve the effectiveness of funding examinations.
Yang also proposed waiving the registration fees for civil servants' national examinations, saying the government should pay all or part of the expenses.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
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COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai